Dentists and Halloween Candy

People always ask me what I do special for Halloween. "Do you give out toothbrushes"?  "Do you give out stickers and pencils?" "Do you buy candy?"

Buy Candy? Heck yah I buy candy. Then I put it in a bowl and give it to the kids that knock on my door. IT'S HALLOWEEN!!! 

I have eaten mine, or my kids, candy for years now. 41 years to be exact. And I have had 1 cavity. My whole life. That is not me bragging. That is me telling you all that eating candy at Halloween AND being cavity free is possible. 

Here's what you do. Give the kids 30 minutes. Let them trade and eat all the candy they want. Then take the candy and send your kids to the bathroom to brush AND floss. Then the next night give the candy back for another 30 minutes and then send them back to the bathroom. Repeat the process until the candy is gone. 

The key is to not let your kids take the candy to there rooms. Its the eating the candy and then letting it sit in between the teeth all night that is the problem. Short stints of candy followed by brushing and flossing will do very very little, if any, harm to your child's or your teeth.

Happy Halloween everyone. 

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How does a tooth implant work?

What are the steps in getting a dental implant?

Here we go. 

The tooth on the left had a root canal.

The root canal is failing. 

Step #1

Remove the tooth. 

No chisels or knees to the chest with the pliers.

Tooth removal can be very simple and pain free.

Step #2 

Place the implant.

When leaving the office after getting your implant

you won't even be able to see that anything has been done.

The top of the implant should be around the same

as the level of the bone.

And since the bone is under a layer of gums you 

won't be able to see it.

Step #3

Place the connecting piece.

In a "normal" crown to tooth relationship the crown will cement 

to the tooth.

In an crown to implant relationship the crown will cement to

the connector which is screwed into the implant.

 Step #4 

Place the crown on the connector. 

Here is the finished project. 

It is now ready for FULL function.

Once the entire project is done the crowned implant should

be treated just like any other tooth when it come to brushing,

flossing, chewing, etc. 

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Do I really need a crown?

So, your dentist tells you that you need a crown.

How do you know if he/she is full of it and when 

they are telling you the truth?

Here's the #1 reason that teeth, in my office, need crowns.

The ratio between tooth and filling.

A filling is like a patch in a pair of pants. 

You rip a little hole and you place a patch. 

You rip 14 holes and you throw the pants away. 

Why?

Because the amount of patch material would be greater then

the amount of original pant material and that just wouldn't work.

It's the same with teeth. 

When that amount of filling material would be greater

 then the original tooth material, you know its time.

This tooth is a perfect example.

It used to have 4 corners. The patient came in because he

broke one of the corners off. 

When the 4 corners were in place the ratios were okay.

But not that there are only 3 corners the ratios are off.

There is now too much filling and not enough tooth to support it.

This tooth now needs a crown.

Hopefully your dentist uses a digital camera and can show

you images like this so that you can see what is going on. 

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